If you have found anything of the slightest interest, please e-mail to d.mayston@btinternet.com   

Who I am

I was born at Barham, Suffolk, in 1923. In 1935 I moved to Barnet, Hertfordshire with my parents. I joined the RAF as trainee pilot in 1943, but was remustered to become an Air Gunner. I trained on Lancasters and  joined  No.149  Squadron at Methwold, Norfolk, in 1945, but the dropping of the atom bomb saved us from going to the Far East. I flew about 300 hours on Lancasters, in both rear and mid-upper turrets,  and had the rare privilege of taking the controls of a Lancaster for a short spell. My 12 hours at the controls of a Tiger Moth enabled me to keep it the right way with no trouble.

I returned to Civvy Street in 1947, and trained as a draughtsman with the Fairey Aviation Company,  where I worked on the Gannet  and Gyrodyne. After 4 years I moved to De Havillands at Hatfield. After 4 years at Hatfield I moved to Protocol Engineering, a firm of Design Consultants, which provided a variety of much more interesting work. I married my wife Sheila in 1957. We had two children who have produced four grandchildren, all boys. Eventually  Protocol moved into manufacturing, and I became Technical Director. After experiencing minor heart problems due to stress, I took early retirement in 1980 and we moved to Woodbridge, Suffolk, where I have pursued various hobbies, messing about with boats, restoring classic MGs, model aeroplanes, woodturning, DIY, gardening, painting, photography and the occasional bit of flying.

Why have I bothered to have a web site at all at the age of 85? A heart operation last  year has given me a new lease of life,  Believing that idleness is not a good idea I started a new project building a model Lancaster  for the Suffolk Aviation Group  Museum to be established near Ipswich. At least one person has asked to be kept up to date with progress, and sending pictures can be quite time consuming using dialup. A decision to progress to broadband was made, and learning to set up a website will help keep my brain alive. I have also produced some paintings over the years that are gathering dust in my studio, that may be of interest to someone out there. There are also one or two short stories that have never been published that I propose to inflict on a wider audience.

Suffolk Aviation Heritage Group                                                                       

Stories

Lancaster Model Project

The Original Lancaster  OJ-T

Picture Gallery

Our Studio - Pictorial Tour   

 The Walrus Project

.15th September (Battle of Britain Day) Lancaster installed at Suffolk Aviation Heritage Display Centre, Ipswich, Suffolk.

13th October 2008  Latest picture of Walrus 

29th October  New Painting of Tide Mill  and the Walrus in the Gallery

6th October  Another picture of Walrus over the river.